The My Two Dads Alternative Scene
by matthewsbj
Summary: An alternative scene for one that I think fizzled out in the episode.


The episode is The My Two Dads (4x09), towards the end of the episode. This "replaces" the scene after Frank leaves the Cohens and Ryan enters the kitchen to find Sandy sitting at the kitchen island, icing the had with which he punched Frank.

I didn't quite care for the scene presented in the episode (more on the later). This is something closer to what I would have like to have seen.

While in no way related, I like jonsmom14's story Missing Scene Challenge My Two Dads. It had a couple of missing scenes involve Ryan and Kirsten. It was done a couple of years ago, but I liked it so I made this kind of run into the second part of that story, especially since it wasn't in violation of canon.

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><p>"<em>I'm sorry things didn't workout with your dad", Sandy apologized.<em>

"_Hey, my Dad is right here," Ryan corrected him._

Sandy looked at his son for a moment and drew him into a tight hug. When he released him, he told Ryan, "Oh kid, you don't know how happy I am to hear that. You know, you've been our son for more then just a couple of years now."

Ryan looked away for a moment as he thought about events not so long ago. "I still remember what you told me when I first met you as my lawyer in juvie, a couple of times actually over that weekend: I could have done a lot worse." He shook his head at the memory and snorted a little bit. "That seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?"

Sandy put his left-hand on Ryan's shoulder and squeezed a bit. "In a way it was a lifetime ago." Ryan met his eyes and saw the meaning behind those words. "I also remember telling you that you were stuck with us," Sandy continued, with a bit of a smirk on his face.

Ryan imitated that smirk as he said, "I couldn't imagine it any other way." His face grew serious as he looked away for a moment. Sandy could tell his son's wheels were turning in his head as he was preparing what he was going to say next, so he had to fight to keep his mouth shut; he knew Ryan had something important to say and he wasn't going to interrupt him.

Finally, Ryan spoke. "You know, Sandy, I'm not quite sure when it first happened, but for a while now, I've thought of you guys as my parents. You've done so much more for me then Dawn and Frank have in the relatively short time I've been living with you guys." He dipped his head as if ashamed, "And I'm sorry, but the names Mom and Dad still have… that is, they don't…" he trailed off while shaking his head, not quite sure how to finish the statement.

Sandy knew where he was going and cut him off at the pass. He cupped Ryan's neck and adjusted it so that blue eyes met blue eyes. "Kid, there's no reason to apologize or to explain. If it happens, it happens. If not, it won't change the way we feel about you. We will always love you. This will always be your home. We will always be your family. You will always be Seth's brother, and you will always be our son."

When Sandy released him, he dipped his head for a moment, as he whispered, "Yeah, I know." Then, not for the first not that evening, they hugged. But, it was probably the first time that Ryan pulled his father into a large, genuine embrace. Sandy was surprised, but recovered quickly and returned his son's embrace.

After releasing each other, Ryan stood up and stuck his thumb out, pointing in the direction of the pool house. "I'm, uh, gonna go to my room for a bit. I've got some things to think about."

Sandy nodded in understanding as he watched Ryan head for the doors. "I'm not sure how long you'll have to yourself." He purposefully emphasized the beginning of the next statement. "_Your mother_ said something earlier about wanting to watch some show about meerkats together."

Ryan chuckled softly and couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Meerkats? Really?" he asked incredulously.

"Really. I'm just warning you—oh, I mean, giving you a heads up!"

Despite both their apparent protestations of having to watch something about rodents, they knew they were both going to enjoy spending time together as a family.

Now, if only Seth was around to share in their misery, or help them through it…

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><p>In my opinion, the powers that be missed a couple of golden opportunities in this episode. It was a good episode in and of itself, but there were a couple of scenes that bugged me. One of which was where Ryan admits to Sandy that he considers him his father, rather then Frank. This verges on the criminally negligent. That could have been such a powerful scene, but Sandy's only response was to chuckle. That supposedly was what both Sandy and Kirsten were working for; to get Ryan to acknowledge them as his parents. He does, but the scene simply fizzles.<p>

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for reading


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